What

Are

Reading

Australian2024edition

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KindergartentoYear12whotookpartinanartcontestaskingthemtoillustrateonthetopicofeither"Howreadingmakesmefeel"or"How

readingmakesyoufeelaboutthefuture.”

AbouttheArtist

Roza.

Year4

Girlreadingabookbyatreewithanamazingworldhappeningaroundher.

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Contents

Introduction5

OverviewofReadingHabitsinAustralia6

KindergartentoYear2(K-2)7

EstablishingStrongReadingFoundations8

Years3-511

Years3-5:MaintainingReadingMomentum12

Years6-815

Years6-8:Re-engagingYoungSchoolReaders16

Years9-1219

Years9-12:RealitiesofHighSchoolReading20

AbouttheReport22

MatchingBookstoKids23

AboutAcceleratedReaderandAboutmyON24

4|Introduction|WhatKidsAreReading

Introduction|WhatKidsAreReading|5

ByJulianneRobar

SrDirectorMetadata&ProductInteroperability

ReadingIstheFuture.AtRenaissance,we’vealwaysknowntheimportanceofreadinginaccelerating

learningforallstudents.Wefirstpublishedthisreport16yearsago,andwecontinuetoupdateit,becauseweknowthatreadingbuildslifelonglearners,furtherscommunication,sparkstheimagination,andfostersinnovation.Forthesereasons,andmanymore,webelievethatreadingisthefuture,andwe'veshapedthereportthisyearwiththisthemeinmind.

Weknowthatreadingmatters,andthatitwill

alwaysmatter,andweareexcitedtosharewhat

kidsarereadingtodayinordertoinspirewhattheymightreadtomorrow.Themoretimekidsspend

reading,themoretheypracticecriticalskills,andthemoretheypractice,themoreproficienttheybecome.

“Themoretimekidsspend

reading,themorethey

practicecriticalskills,andtheymoretheypractice,the

moreproficienttheybecome”

Whyisitimportanttobeagoodreader?Readinghelpsustoprocesstheinformationweencountereveryday.Readingisasetofskillsstudentsneednotjustwhentheyareyounger;it’sanactivitytheywillperformtounderstandandactivelyparticipateintheirworldfortheirentirelives.

Readingcantransportkidstonewplacesand

introducethemtonewideaseverytimetheypickupabook.Justbyreading,kidsencounternew

wordstoaddtotheirvocabulary.Welookedinto

justhowmanywordskidsareexposedtoby

readingdailythroughoutthecourseoftheir

schooling,andthenumberisastronomical.TurntotheResearchAnalysisforYearsK–2,foundon

page7,tolearnmore.

Comprehensionlagsbehindreadingcomplexity

The2024reporthighlightsagapbetweenthecomplexityofbookschosenbyAustralian

studentsandtheircomprehension,particularlyastheymovefromprimarytosecondary

school,indicatinganeedforfocusedsupport.

BoostinreadingengagementamongAustralianStudents

The2024reportrevealsaremarkableincreaseinreadingengagementamongAustralian

students,withtheaveragenumberofbooks

readperstudentrisingfrom13.2in2023to17.6in2024.

6|Overview|WhatKidsAreReading

OverviewofReadingHabitsinAustralia

ParticipationandScope

The2024reportencompassesdatafrom62,559studentsacross440schoolsinAustralia,

representingaslightdeclineof7%comparedtothepreviousyear,where67,221students

participated.Despitethedropinstudentnumbers,engagementwiththeAcceleratedReader(AR)programremainedstrong,asevidencedbytheincreaseinthetotalnumberofquizzestaken.

Australianstudentscompleted1,108,147quizzesandpassed909,365,reflectingarobustlevelofparticipationandacommitmenttoreading.

Onaverage,studentsread17.6bookseachin2024,comparedto13.2booksperstudentin2023.Thisdemonstratesatremendousgrowthinreadingengagementandanincreasedpassionfor

readingamongstudentsutilisingtheARprogram.

Thesignificantriseintotalwordsread,from17,271,156,025lastyearto22,223,794,799thisyear,

suggeststhatstudentswhoparticipatedwerereadingmoreintensively,choosinglongerandmorecomplexbooks.Thisincreaseinreadingvolumeisencouraging,asitindicatesadeepening

engagementwithreading,evenastheoverallnumberofparticipantshasslightlydecreased.

ReadingTrendsandPerformance

Theaveragebookdifficulty,measuredbytheATOSscore,remainedsteadyat3.8,indicatingthat

Australianstudentsareconsistentlychallengingthemselveswithmoderatelydifficulttexts.However,theaveragecomprehensionscore(APC)stayedat75%,thesameasthepreviousyear.Thissteady

APCsuggeststhatwhilestudentsreadmore,theirabilitytocomprehendthesetextsisimprovingatadifferentrate.Thisfindingiscrucialforeducators,highlightingtheneedfortargetedinterventionstoenhancecomprehensionskillsalongsidereadingvolume.

Thereportalsorevealsadistinctpatternin

readinghabitsbetweenprimaryandsecondaryschoolstudents.Primarystudents(K-6)

exhibitedhigherlevelsofengagementwiththeARprogram,reflectedinboththenumberof

quizzestakenandthecomplexityofthebookschosen.Incontrast,secondarystudents(7-12)showedamarkeddeclineinengagementandreadingcomprehension,withmanyoptingforlesschallengingmaterial.Thistransitionfromprimarytosecondaryschoolrepresentsa

criticalperiodwheretargetedsupportis

neededtomaintainandbuildonthereadingskillsdevelopedinearlieryears.

Overview|WhatKidsAreReading|7

YearsK-2

Intheearlyyearsofschooling(K-2),Australianstudentsdemonstratedastrongpreferencefor

booksbylocalauthors,withAnhDoandAaronBlabeyleadingthelistofmostpopularbooks.

Titlessuchas"WeirDo"and"TheBadGuys"wereparticularlyfavoured,reflectingtheappealofhumourandrelatabilityinthisagegroup.TheaverageATOSscoreforthisgroupwas2.7,

indicatingthatstudentswerereadingatalevelslightlyabovetheirchronologicalage.However,theaverageAPCof80%suggeststhatwhilestudentsengagewiththesebooks,their

comprehensionskillshaveroomforimprovement.

Thisagegroupalsoshowedasignificantinterestinpicturebooksandearlychapterbooks,whicharecrucialfordevelopingfoundationalliteracyskills.Thedataindicatesthatwhileyoungstudentscantackleslightlychallengingtexts,theircomprehensiononlysometimeskeepsupwiththe

difficultyoftheirchosenbooks.

Thisunderscorestheimportanceofguidedreadingpracticesandtheroleofteachersandparentsinsupportingearlyliteracydevelopment.

MostPopularBooks

ThetopthreebooksforK-2readers—”WeirDo”byAnhDo,“TheBadGuys”byAaronBlabey,and“PigthePug”byBlabey—arepopularduetotheirstronghumour,relatablecharacters,and

engagingvisuals.“WeirDo”captivatesyoungreaderswithitssillyschool-lifesituationsandquirky,exaggeratedcharacters,makingitfunnyandrelatableforkidsjuststartingschool.

The“BadGuys”,ontheotherhand,featuresagroupof"bad"animalswhohumorouslytryto

changetheirways,offeringaction-packedstorytellingthatappealstochildren’ssenseofadventureandhumour.Lastly,“PigthePug”entertainswiththeoutrageousanticsofaselfish,grumpypug,

teachingkidslessonsaboutbehaviourinalaugh-out-loud,funnyway.Thehumourinthesestoriescombinesboldillustrationsandunderlyingmessagesofkindnessandfriendship,makingthem

entertainingandeducationalforyoungreaders.

Title,Author(ATOSlevel,interestlevel)

WeirDo

AnhDo

(3.4/LY5-8)

TheBadGuys

AaronBlabey(2.4/LY5-8)

PigthePug

AaronBlabey(1.7/LY5-8)

8|YearsK-2|WhatKidsAreReading

ResearchAnalysis*

YearsK-2:

EstablishingaStrongReadingFoundation

Whenkidsfirstlearntoread,itissoimportantthattheyregularlyspendtimepracticingthisnew

skill.Amongthemanybenefitsofreading,timespentonthisactivityservesasanindicatorofwordexposure,whichcontributestooverallvocabularygrowth.Howmuchreadingpracticetimeis

enough?Whenwesaydailyreading,wemeanjust15+minutesperday.1

Whyshouldkidsspend15+minutesreadingeachday?

Readingmaylookpassive,butkids

activelymakemeaningwitheach

wordtheyencounter.Researcherscallthisincidentalvocabularylearning,

anditmeansstudentsneedheavy

exposuretobothknownandunknown

2

vocabularytodevelopliteracyskillsandbuildbackgroundknowledge.Wordexposurewhilereadingisinadditiontovocabularylearned

throughinstruction.

Exploringourdata,wefoundthat

cumulativewordexposureby

graduationforseniorswhoreadjust

15+minutesperdaythroughout

gradesK–12peakedat6.8million

words,versusthe1.5millionwords

kidswereexposedtowhenspendinglesstimereading.Forkindergarten

throughgrade2,studentswhoread

for15minutesormoredaily

encounterednearly5timesasmany—wellover200,000more—wordsas

kidswhoreadforlesstime.

1Source:AcceleratedReaderdatabase,2022–2023schoolyear.

TheMoreKidsReadtheMoreThey’llKnow

275,144

wordsencountered

59,071

wordsencountered

Reading<15min/dayReading+15min/day

2Webb,S.(2020).Incidentalvocabularylearning.InS.Webb(Ed.),TheRoutledgehandbookofvocabularystudies(pp.225–239).Routledge.

*breakdownisbasedonUSdata

YearsK-2IWhatKidsAreReadingI9

HowcanIinspiremorestudentstospendenoughtimereading?

OnIy49%ofkidsinyearsK-2readfor

15+minutesperdayIastschooIyear,andinaIIgradescombinedjustoverhaIfof

studentsdidso(51%).Toinspirekidstoputinthetime,considerguidingthemtoscience,technoIogy,engineering,and

math(STEM)topics,whichmayheIpsparktheirnaturaIcuriosityandechoindividuaIinterests.

OurdatashowthatIastschooIyear,haIfofthekindergartnersreadatIeastone

STEMtitIe(49%),andevenmorekidsdidsoinyears1(66%)and2(77%)—on

average,71%fortheearIygrades.With

somanykidstryingoutSTEMbooks,butthiscategoryrepresentsonIy10%of

overaIIreadingintheearIygrades,STEMisanuntappedsourceofreading

inspiration.

Only49%ofkidsinyearsK-2readfor15+minutesperday.

STEMBooksMayActivateReadingMotivation

71%

ofkidstry

STEMbooks

*breakdownisbasedonUSdata

PopularSTEMBooksforK-2

ConsiderthesepopuIarSTEMtitIesandfindothersat.au.

TheVeryImpatientCaterpillar

RossBurach(1.7/LY5-8)

AColorofHisOwn

LeoLionni(2.3/LY5-8)

FromHeadtoToe

EricCarIe

(1.0/LY5-8)

LooseTooth

LoIaM.Schaefer(0.9/LY5-8)

10|Years3-5|WhatKidsAreReading

Years3-5IWhatKidsAreReadingI11

Years3-5

AsAustraIianstudentsprogressintoYears3-5,thereadingIandscapebecomesmorecompIex.

JeffKinneyIs"DiaryofaWimpyKid"seriesdominatedthetopspots,withmuItipIeentriesintheIistofmostpopuIarbooks.ThesestudentswerereadingatanaverageATOSIeveIof5.4,significantIyhigherthanintheK-2group,refIectingincreasedreadingcompIexity.However,theaverageAPCdroppedto80%,indicatingasIightdecIineincomprehensionasstudentsbegantotackIemore

chaIIengingtexts.

ThecontinuedpopuIarityofKinney’sseriesandJ.K.RowIing’s“HarryPotter”bookshighIightstheenduringappeaIofengagingnarrativesthatbIendhumourwithreIatabIecharacters.ThesebooksentertainandprovideopportunitiesforyoungreaderstoexpIoremorecompIexthemesand

Ianguage,essentiaIfordeveIopingadvancedIiteracyskiIIs.

However,thedecIineincomprehensionscoressuggeststhatasstudentsmovetowardsmorechaIIengingmateriaI,theymayrequireadditionaIsupporttograspthecontentfuIIy.

MostPopularBooks

Foryears3to5inAustraIia,booksIike“DiaryofaWimpyKid”byJeffKinney,“HarryPotter”byJ.K.RowIing,and“CharIieandtheChocoIateFactory”byRoaIdDahIarepopuIarfortheirbIendof

humour,adventure,andreIatabIeexperiences.The“DiaryofaWimpyKid”seriesconnectsdeepIywithyoungreadersbydepictingGregHeffIeyIseverydaystruggIesinahumorousIight.TitIesIike“RodrickRuIes”and“CabinFever”highIightfamiIyconfIictsandschooIchaIIenges,whichchiIdrencaneasiIyreIateto,whiIethecomicaIiIIustrationsaddanextraIayerofentertainment.

MeanwhiIe,J.K.RowIing’s“HarryPotter”seriesdrawsreadersintoaworIdofmagicandadventure,with“ThePhiIosopher’sStone”and“TheChamberofSecrets”offeringanimmersiveescapeinto

Hogwarts.Thecombinationofmystery,fantasy,andstrongthemesoffriendshipandcourageresonateswithchiIdren,whofindbothexcitementandpersonaIgrowthinHarryIsjourney.

DiaryofaWimpyKid

JeffKinney

(5.2/MY9-13)

HarryPotterandthePhilosopher’sStone

J.K.RowIing(6.0,MY9-13)

Charlieandthe

ChocolateFactory

RoaIdDahI

(4.8/MY9-13)

12|Years3-5|WhatKidsAreReading

ResearchAnalysis*

Years3-5:

MaintainingReadingMomentum

Afterestablishinga15+minutesperdayreadingroutineforstudentsintheearlyprimary

years,it’simportanttokeepthatmomentumgoingthroughtheupperprimaryyears.Our

datashowthatkidswhoreaddailyforaquarterofanhourormorenotonlyencountermore

1

vocabularybutalsoaremorelikelytoimprovetheiroverallreadingachievement.

Afterlearningtoread,dokidsreallyneedtokeeppractisingthisskilleachday?

Yes.Askidsmovethroughtheirschooling,theytransitionfromlearningtoreadtoalsoreadingtolearn.Kidsstillneedtoactivelypracticereadingtofurtherhonethe

strategies,vocabulary,andbackground

knowledgetheywillcontinuetolearnandusethroughouttheirschoolingandtheirfuturelives.

Makingtimeforthisactivityforjust15+

minutesdailyisstillthekey.Inyears3–5,wefoundthatkidswhobegantheyearbelow

benchmarkinreading(belowthe40th

percentilerank)were10%morelikelytomeetthebenchmarkbyspringontheStarReadingassessmentwhentheyreadfor15+minutesdaily.

AtRiskReadersHittheMarkwith15+minutesperDay

19%

likelytoreachbenchmark

Reading<15min/day

Reading<15min/day

29%

likelytoreachbenchmark

1Source:AcceleratedReaderdatabase,2022–2023schoolyear.

*breakdownisbasedonUSdata

Years3-5|WhatKidsAreReading|13

HowcanIhelptosustainstudents’interestinreading?

Inupperprimary,kidsmovefromearlyreadersandpicturebookstochapterbooksofvaryinglengths.Graphicnovels,withlotsofvisualsandshortbitsoftext,mayespeciallyappealtokidslookingforhigh-interestbooksinanontraditionalformat.

Graphicnovelsillustrateabook’sactioninaunique

waythatmaycapturekids’attentionwhereother

bookshavenot.Forstruggling,reluctant,orresistantreaders,graphicnovelsmaybethekeytounlockingthejoyofindependentreading.Andaskingkidstotryreadingagraphicnovelfor“just15minutes”may

makewhattheyhavetypicallyviewedasanunwieldy“task”moremanageable.

Concernedthatgraphicnovelsmightnotchallenge

studentsinthesamewaysthatnovelsdo?Ourdata

telladifferentstory—graphicnovelsreadlastschoolyearinyears3–5hadsimilarreadinglevelstoall

booksstudentsread(onaverage,3.0versus3.2),andkidsunderstoodgraphicnovelsaswellastraditionalbooks,scoring80%versus81%oncomprehension.

GraphicNovelsStackupWellwith

ConventionalBooks

ATOS

3.2

ATOS

3.0

Kidsunderstoodgraphicnovelsaswellastraditionalbooksscoring80%versus81%oncomprehension.

*breakdownisbasedonUSdata

(6.0/MY9-13)(6.8/MY9-13)

PopularBooksfor3-5

Considerthesepopulartitlesandfindothersat

ww

.au.

HarryPotterandthePhilosopher’sStone

J.K.Rowling

HarryPotterandtheGobletofFire

J.K.Rowling

Matilda

RoaldDahl

(5.0/MY9-13)

Weirdo

AnhDo

(3.4/LGK-3)

14|Years6-8|WhatKidsAreReading

Years6-8|WhatKidsAreReading|15

Years6-8

Intheyears6-8,Australianstudentsexhibiteddiversereadingpreferences,withcontemporaryandclassictitlesappearinginthemost-readlists.J.K.Rowlingremainedpopular,particularlywithtitleslike"HarryPotterandthePhilosopher'sStone"and"TheChamberofSecrets."

TheaverageATOSforthisgroupwas5.5,slightlyhigherthaninYears3-5,buttheaverageAPC

declinedto77%.Thisdropincomprehensionisconcerning,asitsuggeststhatwhilestudents

selectmorechallengingbooks,theymayneedhelpunderstandingthecontent,particularlyastheytransitionintosecondaryeducation.

Thereportalsohighlightsaplateauinreadingdifficultyatthisstage,withmanystudentschoosingtoremainwithinacomfortzoneoffamiliarandbelovedseriesratherthanexploringnewand

potentiallymorechallengingmaterial.Thistrendpointstotheneedforinitiativesthatencouragemiddleschoolstudentstobroadentheirreadinghorizonsandengagewithabroadervarietyofgenresandauthors.

MostPopularBooks

Forstudentsinyears6to8inAustralia,bookslike“HarryPotter”,“DiaryofaWimpyKid”,“TheHungerGames”,and“Wonder”arewidelylovedfortheirmixoffantasy,humour,adventure,andimportantlifelessons.J.K.Rowling's“HarryPotter”seriescaptivateswithitsmagicalworld,

touchingonthemesoffriendship,courage,andgrowingup,whichresonatewithyoungreaders.Meanwhile,“TheHungerGames”bySuzanneCollinsoffersanexciting,fast-paceddystopian

adventureexploringcomplexideasofpower,survival,andrebellionthatappealtoolderkidsseekingmorematurethemes.

“DiaryofaWimpyKid”byJeffKinneyremainsafavouriteduetoitshumoroustakeonthe

awkwardnessofmiddleschoollife,makingitbothrelatableandentertaining.“Wonder”byR.J.Palaciodeliverspowerfulmessagesofempathyandinclusivity,idealforthisagegroup.

HarryPotterandthePhilosopher’sStone

J.K.Rowling(6.0/MY9-13)

DiaryofaWimpyKid

JeffKinney

(5.2/MY,9-13)

TheHungerGames

SuzanneCollins(5.3/MY12+)

16|Years6-8|WhatKidsAreReading

ResearchAnalysis*

Years6-8:

Re-EngagingYouthfulReaders

Eachshoolyear,ourreadingdataechoresearchthatshowskidstypicallyreadthemostbooks

aroundfifthorsixthyears.Manyschoolsweworkwithfindthatreadingpeaksaroundyears5to6,

1

beforestudentstranistionintosecondaryschool.Yet,wealsoknowthatstudentswhoinvestinqualityreadingpractise—readingformoreminuteswithbettercomprehension—experience

significantlygreatergrowthinoverallreadingachievement.

Howdoesdailyreadingbenefitstudentsasotherinterestscompetefortheirtime?

Evenasschedulesfillforbusyyears6-8,dedicatingtimeforreadingisasimportantasever.Takingafew

minutestoreadinthecaronthewaytoaneventortowinddownbefore

bedmaybejustthebreakbusy

tweensandteensneed—time

particularlywellspentasthispracticemayalsocontributetosignificant

achievementgains.

UsingStudentGrowthPercentiles

(SGPs)thatcomparestudentgrowth

withacademicpeersnationwide,we

foundthatkidsinyears6–8whoreadfor15+minutesdaily,whilescoring

85%+ontheirreadingcomprehensionquizzes,scoredanSGPof52onthe

StarReadingassessment,growing

morethankidswhoreadforlesstimeandwithlesscomprehension(<85%)whoearnedanSGPof43.3.

DiscerningReadersPackinMoreGrowth

with15+MinutesperDay

SGP42

SGP

43

Reading15min/day

Scoring85%comprehension

Reading<15min/day

Scoring<85%comprehension

1Cunningham,A.E.,&Stanovich,K.E.(1997).Earlyreadingacquisitionanditsrelationtoreadingexperienceandability10yearslater.DevelopmentalPsychology,33(6),934–945.Cunningham,A.E.,&Stanovich,K.E.(1998).Whatreadingdoesforthemind.AmericanEducator,22(1–2),8–17.

2Source:AcceleratedReaderdatabase,2022–2023schoolyear.

3SGPsrangefrom1–99andareinterpretedlikePercentileRankscores:/R57137.Tolearnmoreaboutstudentgrowthtrends,visit:

/resources/how-kids-are-performing/

.

*breakdownisbasedonUSdata

Years6-8|WhatKidsAreReading|17

HowdoIkeepstudentsengagedinreading?

Guidingstudentstofindabookseriesmaymotivate

middleschoolreaders,asit’softenhardtoresistthenextinstallmentafterbeingdrawninbythefirstsatisfying

read.

Ourdatashowbenefitsforstudentswhoengagein

seriesreading.Kidswithsustainedinterestinaseries

readmorebooksandmorefrequentlythanthosenot

readingseriestitles.Themoreseriesreading,themorebooksread,withthelargestleapfrom23booksreadbystudentsengagedintwoseriestomorethantwicethat—50books—readbykidswhoreadthreeormoreseries.

Studentsengagedinmultiplebookseriesalsoreadfor46minutesdaily,nearlydoublingthe24minutesspentbystudentsreadingnon-seriesbooks.

Studentsengagedin

multiplebookseries

readfor46minutes

daily,nearlydoublingthe24minutesspentbykidsreadingnon-seriesbooks.

KidsHookedonSeriesReadMoreBooksOverall50

books

18

books

16

23books

books

Reading0SeriesReading1SeriesReading2SeriesReading3Series

*breakdownisbasedonUSdata

PopularBookSeriesforYears6-8

Considerthesepopularbooktitlesandfindothersat.au

HarryPotterandthePhilosopher’sStone

J.K.Rowling(6.0/MY9-13)

TheHungerGames

SuzanneCollins(5.3/MY12+)

Once

MorrisGleitzman(4.1/MY12+)

Wonder

R.J.Palacio

(4.8/MY9-13)

18|Years9-12|WhatKidsAreReading

Years9-12IWhatKidsAreReadingI19

Years9-12

ForAustraIianstudentsinYears9-12,thedatareveaIedacontinuedinterestinmodernandcIassicIiterature.TitIessuchas"TheHungerGames"bySuzanneCoIIinsand"AnimaIFarm"byGeorge

OrweIIwereamongthemostpopuIarreads.TheaverageATOSscoreforthisgroupwas5.9,refIectingahigherdifficuItyIeveIthanyoungerstudents.

However,theAPCforthisgroupfurtherdroppedto82%,indicatingthatcomprehensionremainsasignificantchaIIengeasstudentsencountermorecompIexthemesandIanguageintheirreadingmateriaI.

DespitethehigherATOSscores,thisdecIineincomprehensionsuggeststhatoIderstudentsmaybenefitfrommorestructuredsupportindeveIopingcriticaIreadingandanaIyticaIskiIIs.Thedata

indicatesthatwhiIestudentsaredrawntochaIIengingandthought-provokingtexts,theymayneedheIptofuIIyengagewiththenuancedcontent,whichcouIdimpacttheiroveraIIacademic

performanceandreadinessforpost-secondaryeducation.

MostPopularBooks

ForAustraIianstudentsinyears9to12,booksIike“TheHungerGames”bySuzanneCoIIinsandJ.K.RowIingIs“HarryPotter”seriesremainhugeIypopuIarduetotheirengagingpIotsand

reIatabIethemesofadventure,bravery,andidentity.“TheHungerGames”offersagrippingdystopianstorythatpromptsreaderstorefIectonpowerandsurvivaI,whiIe“HarryPotter”

continuestocaptivatewithitsrichfantasyworIdandexpIorationoffriendshipandgrowingup.

AdditionaIIy,“AnimaIFarm”byGeorgeOrweIIand“TheSimpIeGift”byStevenHerrickintroducedeeperthemesIikesocietaIcritiqueandpersonaIgrowth.“AnimaIFarm”critiquespowerand

corruptionthroughaIIegory,makingitathought-provokingreadforoIderstudents,whiIe“The

SimpIeGift”deIvesintothemesofhomeIessnessandkindness,offeringamoreemotionaIand

refIectivenarrative.Thesebooksresonatewithstudents,encouragingthemtothinkcriticaIIyand

refIectonreaI-worIdissues.

TheHungerGames

SuzanneCoIIins(5.3/MY12+)

HarryPotterandtheGobletofFire

J.K.RowIing(6.8/MY9-13)

ShootingStars

BrianFauIkner(4.9/MY9-13)

20|Years9-12|WhatKidsAreReading

ResearchAnalysis*

Years9-12:

RealitiesofHighSchoolReading

Researchers,educators,andparentsaresometimessurprisedandconcernedtoseesecondary

studentsreadingbooksbelowagrade9difficultylevel,butdoescrossingthethresholdintohighschoolmeankidsshouldfocussolelyonhigh-leveltexts?Whileit’struethatsomeofthebooks

studentsencounterwillbewrittenathigherdifficultylevels,suchasclassicsembeddedwithinthecurriculum,inreality,manykidswillselectbookslikethosetoppingpopularbestsellerschartsto

1

readforenjoyment

Howdoesdailyreadingbenefitstudentsasotherinterestscompetefortheirtime?

ExaminingrecentNewYorkTimesBest2

Sellers,wefoundthathighschoolersreadatlevelscomparabletoadults.On

average,thebestsellershadATOS

readinglevelsof5.2withupper-grade

interestlevels,whileourdatashowthat

studentsingrades9–12readatanoveralllevelof4.9ATOSlastschoolyear(about